This invention relates to a pet door, and in particular to a pet door for use in a screen door.
The use of pet doors is a convenient method of allowing a pet free movement into and out of a dwelling. However, for most people, the usually complicated and expensive construction of pet doors outweighs their convenience. Other disadvantages of pet doors are the free entry of uninvited guests such as insects via unsealed or partly open pet doors, and the lack of any indication whether the animal is inside or outside the house.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,334,573, issued to La Vona R. Hackman et al on Jun. 15, 1982 and 4,603,724, issued to Michael J. Borwick on Aug. 5, 1986 describe pet doors for use in screen doors. While the Hackman et al device, is relatively simple, it does not provide a seal around the door sufficient to prevent the passage of insects. The Borwick device is difficult to install, and utilizes a complicated and expensive frame. Moreover, neither device provides an indication of whether an animal is inside or outside the house.
An object of the present invention is to alleviate the above mentioned difficulties by providing a relatively simple, inexpensive pet door, which can easily be installed in an existing screen door.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pet door, which enables the pet owner to determine at a glance whether the pet is inside or outside the house.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pet door, which returns to a closed position after the passage of a pet therethrough and which is sealed sufficiently in the closed position to prevent insects entering the house.